


absinthe

by SOLAR FLARE (orphan_account)



Category: SF9 (Band)
Genre: Gen, Parent Death, Violence, rpmverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:54:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27672319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/SOLAR%20FLARE
Summary: what happens when your parents get murdered and a mysterious man shows up at your door?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	absinthe

**Author's Note:**

> rejected/unfinished idea from my rpmverse, decided to post it anyways. heed the warnings/tags. 
> 
> you can read more about my rpmverse [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23314384/chapters/55883329) & [here.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23314384/chapters/56429821#workskin)

For his entire life, Chani has known war. 

When he was just an enfant, he couldn’t quite grasp the severity or the implications of war, but he was aware of its presence. He was only allowed to play outside during specific hours, and his mother would always cover his eyes whenever the news would come on. At night when Chani was dozing off to sleep, he’d hear the distant sound of gunfire, but never really gave it much thought. To his 5 year old brain, those noises were just fireworks. 

Chani enters elementary school soon after, and it isn’t until he’s 12 years old when he first is able to put a name to the war. It’s only taught in fragments in Chani’s history class, but he vividly remembers the first time he heard the name _the Red Force._ His teacher describes a powerful union of mutants whose sole purpose is to take over Korea, and very soon, the entire world. Chani and his friends just laugh it off, as the Red Force sounds more like something out of a superhero comic rather than grounded in reality. 

Only when he’s 15 does he truly experience the sheer destruction and havoc of the Red Force. 

It starts off as any normal day: Chani wakes up bright and early to go to school, and eats breakfast with his parents before they leave for work. He’s finally old enough to walk to school by himself (a feat he boasted about to all his friends), and kisses his parents good-bye before making the five minute walk to school. Everything seems fine until suddenly, the sky is shrouded in darkness, and he hears people around him screaming for their life. Chani is stunned, unable to move, watching in abject horror as the sunny blue sky seems to ignite on fire. 

“Move!” A random stranger screams, grabbing Chani and running into a convenience store for shelter. The stranger ushers him into one of the back storage rooms, where a few people are already hiding. Chani wants to cry so badly, he’s so confused as to what's going on, but the stranger presses a finger to his lips, advising Chani to be quiet. Chani squats in the darkness of the storage room for what feels like an eternity before the stranger tells him it’s safe to go back outside. 

Chani wastes no time, recklessly sprinting out of the convenience store, and halts in his tracks when he witnesses the sheer level of destruction for the first time. He stands in the doorway of the store, gaping at how Seo-gu looks more like a wasteland apocalypse rather than a sprawling metropolis in Incheon. Everything is in shambles, buildings reduced to rubble and debris. 

What’s more horrifying is that there isn’t a person in sight. Or rather, there isn’t a _living_ person in sight. 

“Hey!” The stranger has caught up to him, grabbing his arm. “Where do you think you’re going?” 

Chani, fueled by pre-pubescent rage, tears his arm out of the stranger’s grip, furious. “I’m going to find my parents.” He’s dashing away, but the stranger continues to holler at him. 

“Kid, I don’t think that’s going to be a good idea.” 

Chani turns around, hands balling into fists. “You can’t tell me what to do.” 

Only now does he get a good look at the stranger, who’s dressed head to toe in a black combat uniform. He’s even got a rifle slung over his shoulder and another gun tucked into a thigh holster. Chani swallows nervously, maybe this wasn’t the right person to get mad at. However, the stranger doesn’t look mad at all. Just sympathetic. 

The stranger sighs. “Kid — hey!” Chani doesn’t care, sprinting as fast as his short stubby legs will let him, entering his apartment building and racing up to the second floor. His hands are shaking as he fumbles with the key, finally managing to push it into the keyhole and unlocks the door. He drops the keys when he sees what’s in front of him.

Chani screams at the top of his lungs.

“Appa! Eomma!” 

He’s racing over to them, or rather, their bodies, lying lifelessly on the linoleum flooring. His whole body is shaking and he’s suddenly crying, ugly, fat globs of tears that roll down his face as he kneels beside his parents. The sight is absolutely horrifying: his parents’ eyes are still wide open, yet devoid of the warmth and joy they usually hold. Their bodies are in a pool of their own blood, the smell tangent and nauseating. Another sob wracks through his body as he gently takes his parents’ hands, squeezing them tightly before curling up into a tiny ball on the floor. His world is collapsing in on itself, everything is deteriorating all at once and Chani doesn’t know how to process the assault of emotions. 

“— kid, you alright?” Chani’s head snaps up, turning towards the direction of the voice. The stranger’s standing there in the doorway, presumably following Chani the entire time. Chani only responds by sobbing even harder, on the verge of hyperventilating. The stranger comes up to him, embracing Chani in a hug. In any other circumstance Chani would’ve pushed the stranger away, but he’s so devastated that the hug feels comforting and assuages some of the pain. 

“Hey, I promise everything will be alright.” The stranger says, rubbing soothing circles into Chani’s back. “Kid, what’s your name?” 

Chani wipes his eyes with the back of his sleeve, hiccuping a response. “C-chani.” 

The stranger smiles softly. “Hey Chani, I’m Junmyeon. Everything is going to be okay, alright? But first, we need to get you to safety. The next attack is going to happen soon.” 

“W-what? Where are you taking me? What’s going to happen to my parents?”

Junmyeon’s smile quickly turns remorseful. “You’ll be far, far away from the battlegrounds. You’ll be safe, and you’ll be protected. As for your parents …” Junmyeon sighs sadly, “... there isn’t much we can do.” 

Chani just nods dumbly, unsure of how else to respond. He’s still shell shocked, eyes watering and face flushed red from the tears. Junmyeon tells him to pack his things, and he sucurries back to his bedroom, filling up his backpack with anything he deems essential. Clothes, hygiene amenities, his favourite book, a couple of fruit flavoured candies, and his favourite stuffed dinosaur that his parents gifted him for his 7th birthday. Reality hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but Chani moves on autopilot and finishes packing in record time. 

Standing at his full height, Junmyeon is a giant compared to Chani, yet nothing about him seems frightening. His facial expressions are gentle and reassuring, such a strange contrast to his militia getup and rifle. Chani meets him back in the living room, where Junmyeon has wiped away most of the blood. Looking at his parents is too painful for Chani, but he presses a soft kiss to both of their cheeks as Junmyeon tells him _they need to go._ A single tear rolls down his cheek as he glances at their bodies for a final time before he turns to leave. 

There’s a helicopter waiting for them when they exit the apartment, and Chani gapes in awe at its size. He’s seen photos in picture books and online, but it’s nothing compared to getting into a _real life_ helicopter. This one seems more high-tech and fancy than the average helicopter, Chani presumes, and he wonders how Junmyeon has access to technology like this. 

As the helicopter ascends, Chani mournfully watches his apartment grow smaller and smaller, until it’s a tiny speck in the skyline. Junmyeon holds his hand throughout the entire duration of the helicopter ride, whispering assurances and rubbing circles into the back of Chani’s hand with his thumb. 

“Where are you taking me?” Chani’s voice is quiet and feeble.

Junmyeon sighs, looking forlorn. “This must be a lot to take in at once, but we’re taking you to our base. I can explain more when we get there.” Chani nods, choosing to silently look out the window instead. 

Chani watches as they pass by cities, staring in horror at the destruction caused. He soon realizes that it isn’t just his hometown that’s been ruined: it’s nearly the entire province of Gyeonggi-do. They finally arrive at the base, the area cloaked by dense forests and lush foliage. Chani doesn’t have a clue where they are, but he remains quiet for the duration of the helicopter ride. They land on a helicopter pad, and Junmyeon helps Chani get out, before leading him down a series of stairs into the grand foyer of the base. 

There’s already hundreds of people swarming around the base, loud chattering filling the large open space. Chani glances around, noticing dozens of people that look like they're in a similar situation to him: lost, scared, and confused. He grips onto the straps of his backpack a little tighter, feeling incredibly out of place and fervently following behind Junmyeon like his life depends on it. The two of them stop in front of a door. 

“Hey, Chani-ah, I’m going to drop you off at your assigned living quarters, alright? I have some things to attend to, but how about you get settled and I’ll meet you back in 20 minutes?” Junmyeon says, opening the door for him. Chani just nods, and is quite shocked when he notices there are two beds in the room, as well as another person occupying one of the beds. 

The other person looks up, smiling at Chani. Chani’s surprised by the gesture, a stark contrast to everything he’s experienced in the last few hours or so, but finds himself returning the smile. The boy looks about his age, maybe older, with short cropped hair pushed back to reveal his forehead. “Hey, I’m Youngkyun. What’s your name?” 

“Oh. Um, I’m Chani, I’m 15 years old.” He sets his backpack down on the vacant bed, noting how awfully sparse the room is. It looks akin to a university dormitory, only furnished with two beds, a wastebasket, and a single desk and chair. 

Youngkyun’s eyes widen. “No way! I’m 16, I didn’t think I’d meet someone else my age here.” 

Chani sits down on the stiff bed, unsure whether or not to address the elephant in the room. “Did your parents also …” He gestures his hands awkwardly, choking up the last part of the sentence on the tip of his tongue. 

“Oh, no. My parents died when I was pretty young.” Youngkyun shrugs. “This place is a lot nicer than the orphanage I’ve lived at for most of my life. I’m just worried because I don’t know where my brother is.” He says solemnly, looking down at his sneakers. 

Chani feels a pang of sympathy for him, though doesn’t know if it’s appropriate to give Youngkyun a hug. “What happened to your brother?” 

“He’s six years older than me, so he has a part time job at a cafe near the orphanage. When we got attacked, I didn’t have enough time to look for him.” Youngkyun sighs. “I just hope he’s alright. Knowing him, he probably decided to save someone before saving himself. Stupid, selfless, idiot.” He’s got a faraway, almost longing look in his eyes, and his words lack any trace of aggression. Chani wonders what it must be like to have a close relationship with a sibling, or a sibling at all. 

“I hope your brother’s alright.” Chani replies quietly, trying to offer a sympathetic smile. “He sounds like a courageous person, I’m sure he managed to somehow make it out alive.” As he says that, images of his parents flash through his mind and he instantly recoils, unable to stop the stream of fresh tears flowing down his cheeks. 

Youngkyun notices, immediately rushing over to Chani’s bed and sits beside him, wrapping his arms around Chani. Chani feels so pathetic, so feeble for crying so much, but can’t stop. He doesn’t say anything, just lets Chani sob freely and hands him a wad of tissues. 

“I’m sorry for crying.” Chani sniffles, dabbing his tears away with the tissues.

Youngkyun frowns, shaking his head. “Don’t apologize at all, you’ve been through a lot today. It’s alright to cry. Don’t think it’s a sign of weakness.” Chani looks up at him with watery eyes, and is almost taken aback by the mature expression on Youngkyun’s face. It’s almost shocking how different the two of them are, despite the fact they’re only a year apart in age. “Everything is going to be alright,” Youngkyun assures him, “we have each other now.” 

Chani wraps his short arms around Youngkyun, hugging him back and sighing as the tears finally seem to subside. He whispers a quiet _thank you,_ though the moment is quickly interrupted by a knock on the door and Junmyeon letting himself in. 

To be fair, Junmyeon does look incredibly bashful when he realizes the moment he’s intruded on. “Sorry for interrupting you two.” He says apologetically, though Chani just shakes his head. 

“It’s okay.” Chani tries out a small smile, and it’s enough to reassure Junmyeon. 

“If it’s alright with you two, we’re holding a small session that’ll explain everything, and why you’re here. Do you guys wanna come along?” Junmyeon offers. 

Youngkyun glances over at Chani, to which Chani just nods. He just wants answers. 

“Sure, we’ll come.” 

* * *

Junmyeon leads them to a room that looks like a tiny amphitheater, and the room is packed with at least five dozen other rescues that look to be in the same boat as Chani and Youngkyun. They find seats near the front, and watch as Junmyeon makes his way to the front, standing next to the podium and beside who Chani presumes to be the de facto leader of … whatever this strange organization is. Junmyeon must be awfully important to be able to stand at the front beside their leader, Chani quietly thinks to himself. 

“Hello everyone.” The figure beside Junmyeon says, voice booming through the amphitheater. “My name is General Jung, but for now, you can call me Yunho.” His eyes flicker, scanning everyone in the crowd. He looks so strong and powerful, almost like he popped right out the superhero comic books Chani loved to read. Yunho’s gaze is sharp and commanding, yet still holds compassion and empathy. 

“I just want to begin this by saying that I understand what you all are going through.” Yunho sighs deeply, as if reminiscing something tragic from his past. “It’s horrible, and I hope no one in the future has to go through the same things that you all had to endure. When I was 12, my family was also taken away from me by the Red Force, and ever since then, I’ve made it my life’s goal to single handedly dismantle them from the inside and out.” 

He pauses, scanning the crowd again. “Some of you may already know what the Red Force is, but for those of you who don’t, they’re a rogue group of mutants who want to destroy the world.” A chorus of shocked gasps erupt from the audience. “I created an opposing force that would stop at nothing to annihilate them. We are the Rebellion, and this is our home base. I won’t get into the details of what we do, but we’re an armed force, and a subsidiary of the military.” 

“Whether you would like to join our cause or not is your choice. However, for those of you who choose not to, it is still our duty to protect you and keep you safe. You can stay here for as long as you’d like. I know this is a lot to process at once, so you don’t need to make a decision right away. In fact, most of you are too young to even join our forces — we only accept those who are 18 or older. For now, we’re here to support you during what must be an incredibly difficult time.” Yunho suddenly looks much younger, his eyes holding much more sorrow than they did before. 

He then gestures to Junmyeon. “My second in command, Lieutenant Kim, and I will be here if any of you need anything.” Junmyeon nods, smiling warmly. _Second in command, huh,_ Chani thinks to himself, a little shocked. He’s suddenly intrigued as to why Junmyeon went out of his way to specifically rescue him, when there were so many other people he could have saved at the convenience store. 

After that, Yunho goes on about what they could do at the base, but Chani zones out, and only snaps back to reality when Youngkyun slaps him on the back. “Did you fall asleep?” Youngkyun jokes, and Chani playfully punches him back. 

“No, dumbass.” He mutters, but appreciates the way Youngkyun tries to lighten the mood. As they make their way out of the ampitheatre, Youngkyun halts to a stop, openly gaping. He’s looking across the room at someone, but Chani can’t quite tell who. 

“Youngbin!” Youngkyun hollers, dashing across the room. 

People quickly part to the side to let Youngkyun through, and most people hurriedly file out of the amphitheater. 

“Youngbin hyung!” Youngkyun’s running into Youngbin’s arms, holding him tight and spinning him around. 

Still confused, Chani runs over to the two of them. 

Youngbin’s tearing up, holding Youngkyun’s face in his hands. “Youngkyun-ah, I was so scared you died.” He squeezes him in for another hug, burying his face into Youngkyun’s shoulder. “I’m so happy you’re alive and here.” 

Youngkyun still looks like he’s in disbelief, almost as if the moment was too good to be true. “I was worried sick. I don’t ever want to lose you.” 

Chani feels like he’s intruding on an incredibly intimate moment, but Youngkyun perks up when he sees Chani. 

“Chani, this is my brother, Youngbin!” They’re now standing next to each other, and although Youngkyun is much younger, he’s already got a few centimeters on his older brother. “Hyung, this is Chani. My friend.” 

Chani flushes, shocked that Youngkyun already considers him a friend. He chooses to just wave at Youngbin, smiling at the brother’s reunion. “Youngkyun told me a little about you.” Youngbin groans, looking over at his brother.

“I hope it was nothing bad. Youngkyunnie can be the _worst._ ” 

Youngkyun looks offended, gasping dramatically. Chani just laughs. He doesn’t quite know what’s in store for him in the future, but he suddenly feels a lot less lonely. 

He doesn’t really do that much for the rest of the day. Chani returns to his living quarters with Youngkyun and Youngbin, and quietly unpacks his backpack while he listens to the two brothers amicably chat with one another. They all eat dinner together in the mess hall, surrounded by soldiers of the Rebellion. Chani is incredibly intimidated eating next to them, but they all greet Chani cheerfully, only ever offering him gentle smiles. 

That night, Chani sleeps fitfully, fingers tightly grasping the sheets as he wakes up in a cold sweat. He’s clinging on to his favourite stuffed dinosaur, the only vestige of his parents he has left. Sleeping quickly turns into a near impossible task: every time he closes his eyes, the image of his parents’ dead bodies appears so vividly in his mind, causing Chani to almost scream. He gasps, sitting up in bed staring into the darkness of the night. 

He glances over at Youngkyun’s sleeping figure, the way his chest rises and falls slowly. Chani’s so jealous of Youngkyun it physically _hurts_. He’s envious of how Youngkyun still has Youngbin, how they still have one another. It’s bearable during the day, but the ugly monster he calls jealousy rips itself out of his ribcage at night. 

Chani has never felt more alone in his life. 

He should be thankful that he’s alive, grateful that Junmyeon saved him. 

However, Chani can’t help but think it’d be better if he was dead. 

Maybe then he wouldn’t feel so lonely, maybe then he’d still be with his parents, albeit in Heaven or whatever life after death there was out there. 

Chani sobs, bringing his knees closer to his chest and letting his forehead rest against his kneecaps. 

He barely sleeps for the rest of that night. 

**Author's Note:**

> [main twt](http://twitter.com/PEGCHANGMIN) / [sf9 fic twt](http://twitter.com/PEGCHANGM1N)


End file.
